Bunch reception station of palm oil mill: The palm oil processing plant starts after the harvesting of the palm fruit bunches where they are taken to the palm oil mill for processing. During the harvesting process the fruits should be handled with care to prevent bruising them as the bruise reduces the quality of oil extracted.

Palm fruit sterilization station

Sterilization station of palm oil mill: Sterilization process follows where a lot of heat is used to cook the fruit. In this station of palm oil processing, enzymatic reactions are also stopped, arresting hydrolysis ,auto-oxidation and the outer cover of the fruit (exocarp) is also weakened allowing easier oil extraction from the fruit. This process can be done by either roasting/smoking which is done after threshing process or by steaming/boiling which should be done before threshing process.

Threshing station of palm oil mill: The fruit bunches then undergo threshing which separates the fruitlets from the bunch in a rotating drum. It can be done manually or a mechanical by use of palm oil processing machinery - thresher / threshing machine. The loose fruits are then conveyed to the another palm oil processing machine - digester, and the empty fruit bunches are separated and returned to the plantation or used as fuel in the boiler.

Palm fruit digesting station

Digesting station of palm oil mill:The fruits are then digested in the digester. This process involves the crushing of the fruits and warming the pulp before oil extraction is done. Warming is important in order to maximize oil extraction.

Palm oil pressing machine

Palm oil pressing station of palm oil mill: Pressing is then done which yields press liquor (oil, water sand and other solid impurities) by use of palm oil pressing machine (palm oil expeller). The nuts can be removed before digesting to yield grade A oil or the mesocarp can be pressed together with nut. Pressing the pulp bursts out the cells carrying the oil hence releasing the palm oil. Manual, hydraulic and screw presses can be used. Care should be taken when using the hydraulic press to ensure that the hydraulic fluid does not get in to contact with the oil as it is poisonous, hydraulics also require frequent replacements as they wear out fast due to absorption of moisture from the air hence losing their effectiveness. Screw press is the most recommended palm oil pressing machine as it yields most oil.

Crude palm oil clarification machine

Crud palm oil clarification station of palm oil mill: Oil is then clarified, in this process impurities screening is done whereby large solids of fiber and dirt are removed from the raw oil .Water is then added to the raw oil in order to improve the separation process. After sieving process the raw crude oil is obtained but it still contains fine solids and water. Water is removed by introduction of a steam in the coils (increasing the temperature in the coils). The fine solids that are in the oil are removed finally as they sediment hence separating oil from the sludge to obtain about 163 kg of oil per one tone of the palm fruits processed.